It was a Saturday in mid December of 1977. Joey Cannon and I were having breakfast at the Pancake House in Memphis, TN. We used to meet on Saturday mornings at a prayer breakfast. As we enjoyed our blueberry pancakes with bacon and eggs we noticed something at the same time. The music was different. They were playing songs about Jesus coming to earth to be our Savior and King! Why on earth would they be doing that?
It all goes back to an event that occurred 2000 years ago, that is still impacting planet earth today. This is an event worth singing about!
Luke is the first musician in the New Testament. In Luke, everyone is singing when Jesus is born. Matthew focuses on Christ the King of the kingdom of heaven. Mark focuses on Jesus the teacher. John focuses on the divinity of Christ and the blessings of believing on him. But Luke, who is the Gentile writer of the Bible, shows us Jesus, the model of humanity. And Luke’s contribution to the gospel collection includes poetic prose that has been commonly received as songs, like the Psalms of Old.
The first song about Jesus’ birth in the New Testament was given to us by his mother, Mary. As we look at this section of scripture today, let’s let Luke set the stage for us and enter into this moment of music from a mother’s heart with our eyes and ears open to what God is calling us to see and hear. Remember, Mary is a very young woman with an enormous enterprise placed in her womb. Her very body became the temple of God’s Son. By the power of God she conceives and carries the creator of the universe within her. Her reaction to the news is fear, curiosity, faith, and submission. Then she takes a trip to visit Elizabeth, who also is pregnant by God’s power.
You know, this story is astounding. In so many ways we are challenged to believe what is beyond the scope of science and logic and natural laws. Were it not true, it would be a superb piece of fiction. But it is true! Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes. Listen to the text and read it with me… First, Mary meets a Messenger from the Almighty.
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.
30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end."
34 And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.
36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 "For nothing will be impossible with God."
38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Notice how Mary moves from fear to faith, from curiosity to submission. She receives the message of Gabriel and believes it with courage. What a great example to all our youth! Mary must be less than 18 years old, but listen to her! What kind of heart does she reveal to us? Where is her agenda? Her life was not so cluttered with interests and distractions that she could not hear and accept the Word of God. Just imagine questions of today: What about my education, sports activities, social life, or career plans? What will I tell the cheerleading squad? How about my college plans? We live in a world where, “I did it My Way!” is valued very highly. News of this sort would be quite a challenge to face in any time. Yet, think about it. Mary has plans too. She’s engaged to be married. It is beyond inconvenient that she became pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. How’s she going to break the news to him? What will everyone else think? Who’s going to believe “the angel told me this would happen” story? By the way, not even Joseph believed her story. He was even ready to break up the betrothal. This was a bigger thing than an engagement. It required a bill of divorce to end it. God had to reveal the truth of Mary’s words to him. But Mary’s heart was steadfast. She believed and received this message and submitted to whatever repercussions it would bring. She said it well. I am the Lord’s bondslave. This word meant that she was completely under the authority of the Lord. She accepted this position and all that went with it.
Let me tell you something… the message to us is not so different than that which Mary believed and received. Everyone who accepts the Word of the Lord and submits to him in faith will face challenges. The Bible tells us that as Christians our bodies are a temple of the Living God, and that the members of our body are members of Christ himself.
Either you believe the word of God and submit to it or you don’t. This is far more than an inconvenience to our fleshly desires and agendas, hearing and heeding the message of God in Christ involves death to our fleshly passions and desires. But life in the Holy Spirit who brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By God’s grace we can follow the example Mary set for us. One of the first expressions from Mary after Gabriel left is Joy.
God puts a song of joy and victory in Mary’s heart…
39 Now at this time Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice, and said, "Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 "And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
45 "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."
46 And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
51 "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.
53 "HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; AND SENT AWAY THE RICH EMPTY-HANDED.
54 "He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his offspring forever."
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
One of the great needs Mary has after the visit and message of the angel Gabriel is a kindred spirit to share God’s wonder with her. Gabriel has supplied the perfect person for fellowship and support by telling Mary about Elizabeth.
God uses Elizabeth to confirm God’s word to Mary and to encourage her. It wasn’t Joseph that she ran to first. It was a fellow recipient of God’s word with a similar blessing. Woman to woman, they meet and celebrate what God is doing through them. This was a three month visit. Think of it. Three months! This means that Mary was there up until John’s birth and maybe was present for all that experience too. All we know of the visit is what happened when they met. But that is a great hint at what went on for the weeks and months that followed.
Their greetings are bubbling over with overwhelming realization of God’s nearness and workings in, on, to and for them. John jumps in his mother’s womb, Elizabeth loudly proclaims blessings on Mary and blessings on the baby within her. Elizabeth then pays homage to Mary herself. “How is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Like it or not, the Holy Spirit inspired her to say that. While Mary was not exalted above humanity, she was certainly exalted as a faithful human blessed by God’s grace and selection. Even Gabriel’s first words to her are, “Greetings Favored one!” Interesting that Gabriel has used a similar greeting many centuries before this when he spoke to Daniel and revealed the coming of the Messiah to him.
Don’t you know that Mary needed this? She’s just a young virgin. Her whole world is being shaped and cast before her. She’s the one. God selected her among all the daughters of Israel of all time, he chose Mary. Her fears at the first were founded. She is not entering into a life of comfort and ease. Her calling is one of greatness, but not glamour. She will experience the entire spectrum of emotions from one end of this to the other. We know the whole story, but remember… Mary didn’t.
As we zoom in on this moment with Elizabeth, we do well to simply share the wonder of that moment with her. This is wildly unexpected and she is just beginning to build a perspective about what is happening! The bonding of Mary and Elizabeth in heart is poured out in this greeting of musical poetry.
Elizabeth is supernaturally informed about what is happening with Mary. The Holy Spirit fills her, Mary feeds on the encouragement and overflows with this song of rejoicing!
My Soul magnifies the Lord! My spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant!
We don’t know who if anyone, was around to hear this at the time. It doesn’t matter. God inspired it and heard it and through Luke’s gospel we still hear it today. It’s the song of a mother’s heart. More than that, it is the song of the heart of the Lord’s servant.
Ok… We’ve looked at the scriptures and reflected on the story. But what about you and me today? What connections and instructions come from this for us?
Let me offer these applications:
1. Do you realize that God is calling you too? The message Mary received and believed and submitted to comes from the same source as the message you and I receive! Someone might say, “Well, if an angel came and told me, then I’d believe.” No, you wouldn’t. Mary was already listening to the scriptures before Gabriel ever came. Her song reveals that she knew the scriptures. She’s been listening to God all along. It was only natural that when God spoke to her through Gabriel that she acted on the faith she already had and showed submission to the Lord who already knew her heart. The question we must answer is this: am I listening to God through his word and submitting in faith to him today?
2. We need to find fellowship with believers for spiritual strength and encouragement. Mary sought out Elizabeth because they shared a common blessing. You and I need relationships like this to stand strong in the faith. God didn’t intend for you to walk this lonesome valley by yourself. Jesus surrounded himself with followers and when he sent them out, it was always with at least one partner. It was the same way later in the church. In Acts 13 it was time to do foreign missions. The Holy Spirit spoke and said, “Set apart for me, Barnabus and Saul for the work I have called them to do…” Always, there were at least two. Mary found Elizabeth, and you need to find someone to share your faith with too.
3. We need to rejoice in God’s call and celebrate God’s goodness and blessings. Do you know where God wants you to end up? Heaven! The path to get there may involve a lot of thorns and griefs, but even in trials we can rejoice because we know were we are going and we know who goes with us and before us on the way.
